We as most people will know by now my defense didn’t happen. My committee was not satisfied with my dissertation and canceled the defense 16 hours before it was supposed to take place. This is a case of many balls dropped and bad timing. The lesson is that you should get people the document early before you schedule the defense.
This is also a cautionary tale for those going their thesis work in a different department. Different advisors and departments have different expectations. For example, my advisor is satisfied with my dissertation, but his expectations are very different than my committee’s. Also, someone from a different department doesn’t hold as much clout outside of their sphere of influence.
For myself I am back to writing and need to spend more time thinking about my data. Right now I really can’t think of what the hell my committee has issues with and am just sort of waiting around wondering, and wondering some more.
The end result will be a better constructed thesis and a more productive defense. Now I should plan some experiments and make sure I have all of the materials that I need, just in case I actually get a chance to be productive.
